Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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This issue concerns the ongoing failure of the Government to fulfil a commitment it gave to the people of Dublin and the people of Ringsend and Irishtown in particular that 900 affordable houses would be constructed on the Irish Glass Bottle site. I welcome members of the Irish Glass Bottle Housing Action Group to the Public Gallery. I note that although I am pleased to see the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Phelan, here, I am disappointed the Minister is not here.

This was one of the biggest social and affordable housing projects advanced by the Government. Unfortunately, it has become bogged down in bureaucracy. In May 2017, an agreement was reached between the Government, Dublin City Council and NAMA that the Government would provide funding for the purpose of purchasing 900 social and affordable houses. A strategic development zone, SDZ, was subsequently approved by Dublin City Council on the basis of representations to the council by the then Minister that the receiver was on board and that there was agreement that there could be 25% social and affordable housing on the site. I think a total of 3,500 units were to be constructed.

There was then great surprise when the receiver lodged an appeal earlier this year that was heard by An Bord Pleanála in April 2018. It has now become even more delayed because An Bord Pleanála recently contacted Dublin City Council to say that it required further information. It has given the council until January 2019 to provide that information.

The Government needs to tell us when an agreement between Dublin City Council, the Government and the receiver will be reached. Members of Dublin City Council entered into and approved this SDZ because they believed an agreement existed between the receiver and the Government so the responsibility rests with the Government. It has become bogged down in bureaucracy. The people of Irishtown and Ringsend are waiting for these houses to be constructed. It is an essential part of the Government's housing policy, particularly with regard to social and affordable housing, but we have seen no development with regard to it yet. It has become a mess and I want answers from the Government.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Deputy O'Callaghan laid out the details very well. We need to know when this agreement regarding the provision of social and affordable housing on the site in Poolbeg will be agreed but we also need to ensure that it is the right form of agreement. On 25 May 2017, I asked the then Minister, Deputy Coveney, to set out what he envisaged the affordable housing provided within this agreement between the council, the developer and the State would be. He said that it would be predominantly affordable rental with the balance being social housing with a targeted provision for elderly people. This would be very welcome. There is a huge problem in the area involving local people not being able to afford housing and a need for affordable rental housing, which I presume will be delivered by a cost rental model. It maintains the units within public ownership and helps lower the rental costs for everyone. It is a win-win arrangement but we need to make sure that this is the case and that the Government is not going down the affordable purchase route. In this case, such an arrangement would be likely to result in very expensive properties as it is an ideal location close to the centre of Dublin. That would rule it out for the vast majority of local people even at the kind of discounts that would apply. Fundamentally, it would not be right. What the Government might call affordable housing that involves just shovelling money in from HAP and other payments to the private rental sector is not affordable housing. That is not where we need to go. Yes, we need to know when an agreement will be reached but we also need to know the details of the agreement along with confirmation that, as the former Minister, Deputy Coveney said, that it will be affordable rental with social housing for elderly people. That is what those additional 550 units above the standard social housing that will be provided must be.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue concerning the ongoing situation at the former Irish Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, who cannot be here. I do not want to get into too much of a row with Deputy O'Callaghan but I am a Minister of State in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. I can understand when Deputies wish to hear from a Minister from a Department but it is unreasonable to expect that Deputies get to pick which Minister will speak.

5 o’clock

In May 2016, the Government, not Dublin City Council, designated Poolbeg west as a strategic development zone, SDZ, because of its potential to deliver a large proportion of the extra homes needed in the centre of Dublin. The Government’s designation of the area as an SDZ cleared the way for Dublin City Council, as the designated development agency, to take the next step in drawing up a detailed planning scheme or master plan to guide the development of the area. The city council duly prepared a draft planning scheme which was considered by its elected members in May 2017 and approved in October 2017, after the scheme was amended to take account of inputs from public consultation.

As a statutory consultee for that process, the Department highlighted the importance of the planning scheme, addressing a variety of housing needs and relevant matters. For clarity, it is important to note that there is currently an appeal to An Bord Pleanála regarding the scheme. The progress of development on the site will be dependent significantly on the nature and timing of the decision of the board. It is my understanding that An Bord Pleanála sought additional information about the proposed planning scheme from Dublin City Council on 20 September last and must revert to the board with that information before 17 January 2019, after which the board will make a final decision on the matter.

Securing an approved planning scheme for this site is a key step in enabling its development to progress. This is a matter for the city council and An Bord Pleanála, and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, has no role in such matters. Under the provisions of section 30 of the Planning and Development Act, the Minister can play no role in a case before either a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála.

Pending the finalisation of the appeal process, and without prejudice to its outcome, I nevertheless wish to put on the record that the Minister is committed to working with the city council, any relevant approved housing bodies and all stakeholders relevant to the SDZ to see the site's development potential, particularly in terms of housing, fully realised.

If the planning scheme is approved, implementation of the SDZ must include delivery of additional social and affordable housing from this site over and above Part V obligations and of the order and magnitude laid out in the adopted planning scheme, but subject to agreement on all the normal and relevant terms, including value-for-money aspects.

The Department also understands that the receiver is engaging with Dublin City Council with a view to advancing an approach that would better enable the orderly development of this strategic but complex city location and assist in delivering much needed additional social and affordable housing. The Minister is ready to support such initiatives, subject to observance of all the normal value-for-money, procurement and wider legal aspects.

Deputies O'Callaghan and Ryan share the Minister's wish that this site be developed as expeditiously as possible. There are subtle differences between what each of the Deputies expressed. Deputy O'Callaghan's emphasis was exclusively on timelines whereas Deputy Ryan was expressing concerns that the right balance and mix should be delivered. Those are the issues that Dublin City Council and An Bord Pleanála will consider with the draft plan, subject to its approval.

Members should not mislead the public in Ringsend, or anywhere else, to the effect that the Minister can get directly involved in a decision that An Bord Pleanála has to make. The law is strict and there have been many planning inquiries and tribunals in the past, the results of which have led to planning law being in the shape it is in this country. The Minister has no role in influencing the decision of An Bord Pleanála, but he is adamant that, once that decision is made, this vital city centre location will be suitably developed.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Can I explain why, in this situation, there is a role for the Minister? The SDZ was unusual because it provided for 25% social and affordable housing. The law only provides for 10%. The reason that was permitted, and Dublin City Council went along with that 25% requirement, was because the council was led to believe an arrangement had been reached between the Department and the receiver and that the receiver was on board for the unusual 25% social and affordable housing. That is why this is different from the standard mechanism and why it was such a surprise when it emerged there was going to be an appeal by the receiver to An Bord Pleanála.

Another distinction regarding this site is that it is an enormous proposed development of social and affordable housing. There will be 3,500 units, with 900 social and affordable units. That it supposedly a flagship project for the Government and the Government should be on top of it and ensuring it is delivered. This part of the city is crying out for social and affordable houses. Young people from local communities cannot afford even to rent units in the vicinity. It is unique that this part of the city requires proper consideration and requires development of this site promptly.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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There is no difference between what myself and Deputy O'Callaghan are saying. The State's role is to decide the nature of the affordable housing. I reiterate that, on Thursday 25 May 2017, then Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, said that 550 units in this development would be affordable rental with an additional, smaller number of social housing units targeted at the elderly. I welcome that. It is the right thing to do. There is still much work to be done on the exact mechanism of rental. I want reassurance that units will be for affordable rental, not affordable for sale, in this development. It is important, as Deputy O'Callaghan said, because local people are being priced out of the area, both in purchasing and renting. We need affordable rental to give them a home to live in.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I am limited in what I can say because it is currently before An Bord Pleanála, but I will directly answer some of the questions that have been put.

Affordable housing will be delivered under three areas of activity on the site, the first of which is to enable affordable housing for purchase. Relevant provisions of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 have been commenced. The Government will support the local authority to get sites ready for the delivery of affordable housing. The Government has committed, in the budget, additional money that we are all familiar with. According to the notes I have been given, the cost-based rental housing remains the primary delivery of social housing on the site in question and the Government position on that has not changed.

I am sure, without having spoken directly to the Minister, that he shares Deputy O'Callaghan's frustration about the delays in the process. The Deputy will know that planning laws allow anybody to lodge an objection or appeal at any stage and there is no way for the Government, any local authority, or anyone else binding a receiver or anyone else from lodging an objection.

This is a flagship project and the Government is on top of it. Dublin City Council is required to provide the additional information and An Bord Pleanála, which has received an increase in its staff complement recently to deal with a backlog of cases, can then deal expeditiously with the information and this site can be developed.